1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, more specifically, to the development of habanero pepper hybrid PX11423486.
2. Description of Related Art
The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits in a single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include greater yield, resistance to insects or pests, tolerance to heat and drought, better agronomic quality, higher nutritional value, growth rate and fruit properties.
Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination. There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates if pollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower of the same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollen comes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.
Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over many generations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce a uniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A cross between two such homozygous plants of different varieties produces a uniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many gene loci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number of loci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically and are not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performance unpredictable.
The development of uniform lines requires the development of homozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and the evaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection are examples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbred plants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine the genetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-based sources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new lines are evaluated to determine which of those have commercial potential.
One crop plant which has been subject to such breeding programs and is of particular value is the habanero pepper. Peppers are commonly broken down into three groupings: bell peppers, sweet peppers, and hot peppers. Most popular pepper varieties fall into one of these categories, or as a cross between them. However, these groupings are not absolute, as both “hot pepper” and “sweet pepper” encompass members belonging to several different species. Additionally members of each of the three groups may be different cultivars of the same species. For example, the bell pepper, the jalapeño pepper, and the “Thai sweet” all belong to the species Capsicum annuum L.
Hot pepper refers to both the fruit and the plant. Hot peppers are the smaller hottertypes of chile peppers, which are the fruit of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The chile pepper originated in the Americas; however, today chile peppers are grown around the world. Primarily, they are used as spices and vegetables in cuisine. Hot peppers, including some inedible varieties, are also grown for ornamental and medicinal uses. While there are other pungent varieties of C. annuum, many well known hot peppers are members of different species. For example, both the cayenne pepper and the tabasco pepper are varieties of Capsicum frutenscens, while the hottest peppers, including the habanero and naga varieties, are members of Capsicum chinense. 
The hot pepper fruit is eaten cooked or raw. Its fiery hot flavor is concentrated along the top of the pod. Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is the main active ingredient along with several related chemicals—collectively called capsaicinoids, that give hot peppers their characteristically hot flavor. The stem end of the pod has glands which produce the capsaicin, which then flows down through the pod. The “heat” or pungency of chile peppers is measured in Scoville units. Bell peppers rank at zero Scoville units, jalapeños at 3,000-6,000, and habaneros at 300,000. Pure capsaicin has a reference value of 15,000,000 Scoville units.
C. chinense is usually cultivated as a herbaceous annual, although it can be grown as a perennial. The plant is typically bushy, has a densely branched stem, and grows to about 70 to 90 cm in height. The fruit is green when unripe, usually then changing to red or orange, but may turn brown, white, or pink. The fruit size varies, but is typically 2-5 centimeters in length at maturity. The species can grow in many climates; however, they thrive in warm and dry climates.
Habanero pepper breeding efforts have naturally focused on growing the hottest, most pungent line of peppers. The Red Savina Habanero at 577,000 Scoville units is among the hottest. However, some breeding programs have concentrated on retaining the flavor and aroma of the habanero pepper, while reducing the heat. Some lines with resistances to several pests and diseases are available. In the case of bell peppers, the development of molecular markers and a molecular linkage map for C. annuum has eased some of the problems associated with selecting simultaneously for multiple resistances and other desirable characteristics.
Tetraploidy and haploidy are relatively easy to induce in Capsicum species and an octaploid Capsicum annuum has been reported (Pandal et al., 1984). Capsicum species exhibit barriers to interspecific gene transfer. These include unilateral incompatibility, post-fertilization abortion, and nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions leading to male sterility or other abnormalities (Pickersgill and Barbara, 1997). However, the development of a pepper line resistant to the anthracnose fungal pathogen using interspecific crossing between Capsicum baccatum and C. annuum has been reported (Chae et al., 2003).
Hybrid vigor has also been documented in habanero peppers, and hybrids are gaining increasing popularity among farmers throughout the world, especially in countries with lower skilled labor costs (Berke, 1999).
While breeding efforts to date have provided a number of useful habanero pepper lines and varieties with beneficial traits, there remains a great need in the art for new varieties with further improved traits. Such plants would benefit farmers and consumers alike by improving crop yields and/or quality.